Apparatus for dredging



(No Model.)

G. F. BADGER.

APPARATUS FOR DREDGING.

No. 329,428. Patented Nov. 3, 1885.

N. PETERS, Phnwumn n m wmm m n. c.

Darren STATES PATENT rrren.

GARDNER F. BADGER, OF BROOKLYN, NE? YORK.

APPARATUS FOR DREDGlNG.

SPECIFICATIOET forming part of Letters Patent No. 329,428,6atecl November 3, 1885.

Application filed July 10, 1884. Serial No. 137,300. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GARDNER F. BADGER, a citizen of the United States of North America,and a resident ofBrooklyn, county ofKings, State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Dredging Devices, of which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to provide an improved dredging device for dredging and removing sand, mud, gravel, or other mat ter from under water and depositing it at a distance from the place of removal. By this device and method river and harbor channels can readily be deepened and the removed material be deposited in place for filling up flats and making new land.

The apparatus covered by the invention embraces a barge or boat carrying an attached frame-work which supports a conti nuous overhanging rail, a hopper lixed above the frame-work andextending nearly or quite the length and width of the boat, suitable discharge-pipes connected with the hopper, a suitable adjustable discharge-trough, and a suitable pump adj ustably and freely suspended from the rail and adapted to be raised and lowered and operated from the boat, and having a suitable suction-pipe for penetrating and conducting or taking up the mud, 850., and suitable discharge pipe or pipes for discharging the same into the aforesaid hopper. I suspend a pump having a rigid suction-pipe in such a manner that the lower end of the pipe shall be almostcontinuously forced into the mud, sand, 850., during the operation of dredging by the weight of said pump and pipe.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of the specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in both the figures.

Figure l is a perspective view of my improved device in position. Fig. 2 is a sec tional elevation showing the attachment of discharge-pipe to hopper.

In the drawings, A represents a boat or barge of ordinary construction, having on it a house, B, for inclosing boiler, engine, hoisting apparatus, and steam and water pipes,8tc.,

(none of which are shown,) such as are in common use with devices of this class. The

outside extensions, 0, of the waterpipes are provided with cocks a, and the outside extensions, D, of the steam-pipes are provided with cocks 11. Fixed on the boat is the frame E, consisting of upright timbers 0, whose tops are suitably secured in or to bracing-timbers cl, as indicated. I do not always strictly adhere to this form of frame construction, as it is obvious that it may be otherwise suitably built.

Fixed on the top of the frame E is a frame work, F, carrying the hopper G,which is de signed to receive the mud, sand, &c., that may be discharged from the pump or pumps H through their discharge-pipes f. This hopper G is preferably constructed with its floor sloping from sides and ends toward the central opening, g, (shown in Fig. 2,) and about this opening g is secured a T-pipe, h, one end of which may be closed by a plug or cap, as at i, while to the other end apiece of flexible hose or pipe, 7c, may be attached for carrying off the contents of said hopper.

To the outer ends of the timbers d is secured the continuous rail I, that is preferably or conveniently made of I or flanged iron, and on the lower flange of this rail are one or more trolleys m, through the sheaves of which are passed the chains a, from which the pump or pumps H is or are suspended. By means of this continuous rail, trolleys, and chains the pump or pumps can readily be moved from one point to another, so that dredging can be done all around the boat without moving ita matter of great importance when dredging in places that are left bare at low tides. The pumps H are herein shown, and they are designed to be of peculiar construction and considerable weight, especially adapted to the purpose set forth. Preferably a heavy pump, well known as the "pulsometer-pump, is used, and is herein shown, special valves and other devices (not shown) being introduced or applied thereto to better adapt it for such work, and the suction-pipe thereof is of metal. Flexible connections O connect the steampipes D with the pumps, and flexible conirections P connect the waterpipcs O with the pumps, and the supply of steam and water to the said pumps is regulated by the cocks b a, respectively, at the will of the operator. lf

IOO

there be airvalves on the pump, they also may be regulated from the boat by connecting flexible tubes with them and leading said tubes inboard convenient to the hand of the operator. The inboard ends of the chains n are designed to be connected with'a hoisting drum or engine, so that the pumps can beraised and lowered at pleasure, according to the depth at which the excavation or removal of the mud, &c., is to be made, it being designed that the lower end of the suction-pipe q of a pump shall penetrate the mud, &c., several inches, the weight of the pump forcing the open end of the pipe into the mud.

When in operation, suspended directly from a chain, as therein shown, and worked with ordinary pressure of, say, from forty to sixty pounds of steam, a pump, H, will, because of its operation, oscillate to such an extent that the lower end of the rigid suction'pipe g, which is forced into the mud, &c., by its own weight and the weight of the pump to which it is attached, will move over an area of several feet in diameter, and will disturb, excavate, stir up, and mix the mud, sand &c., with the water, so that the dredging will proceed with great rapidity.

It is obvious that the full weight of pump and pipe should not always be pressing down on the matter to be dredged, and that the de gree of this downward pressure can be easily regulatedby the operator by means of chain a.

A pump is put in operation by steam admitted on turning a cock, 0, and sucking up the mud, sand, &c., about the lower end of its rigid pipeq, it discharges the same through discharge-pipef into the hopper G, whence said mud, sand, & c., flow through pipes h, It, and 8. into a trough, t, that is supported on legs u, and is designed to be of any required length and to be adjusted to discharge at any desired point, the discharge end of said trough always being on a lower level than the discharge-opening of the hopper G. The pipes, connected with the flexible pipe k, and lying in the V-shaped trough t, is preferably of iron, and heavy, so that it may keep its place notwithstanding the motion of the boat or the movement of the mud or sand as they are discharged.

The water-pipe connection 0 furnishes water when required on turning a cook, a, for the purpose of clearing the pump and its valves of mud, sand, gravel, 860., should said pump and valves become clogged therewith, as may be the case when the material to be removed is of a clayey or peaty nature.

The hopper G is designed to be elevated, as indicated, well above the point of discharge of the discharging-trough; but in the construction of this device I do not confine my self' to a fixed hopper for receiving and discharging the excavated material, but sometimes arrange the hopper so that it may be elevated or depressed by screws or other devices in order to assure a suitable inclination from the hopper to the discharge end of the trough t for the free discharge of the excavated material.

- It will be observed that the pumps H are adapted to be moved along the sides and ends of the boat to any desired point, and their.

flexible steam and water pipe connections can be lengthened at convenience, or can be connected at convenient points with the fixed steam and water pipes.

Each pump is designed to be connected with a steam hoisting device on the boat, and each pump will require but one man to attend to it to regulate the hoisting and lowering of 8 the depth to which the excavation is to reach,

by means of the added weight of the pump, into the mud, sand, 850., a hole is rapidly excavated when the pump is in operation, and as the material about the hole fast caves in, and as the end of the suction-pipe is by the pulsations of the pump made to swing about over a considerable area, it is obvious that the dredging must proceed rapidly and almost uninterruptedly.

I attach importance to the continuous rail I, as it allows the pump to be worked upon any side of the boat and over a large area without the necessity of moving the boatas, for instance, in case the barge is aground at low water.

Having thus described my invention, 1 claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. A dredging device constructed substantially as herein shown and described, consisting of a barge or boat having fixed thereon frame-work supporting an elevated receiving and discharging hopper and a continuous rail, a pump suspended by trolley and chain from the continuous rail, and provided with flexible steam and water attachments for operation, and provided also with rigid suctionpipe. suitable discharge-pipes connected with the elevated hopper, and an adjustable trough, all arranged and operated as set forth.

2. In a dredging device, the combination, with a barge supporting an elevated continuous rail, as I, of pump H, having flexible steam and water connections, and devices for suspending said pump from said rail, substantially as herein shown and described, whereby said pump may be raised, lowered, and moved, as set forth.

3. In a dredging device of the character substantially as herein shown and described, the combination, with a barge carrying a hopper, as G, and a continuous overhanging rail, of a pump and of attachments for raising, lowering, and laterally moving said pump, and a pipe projecting from said pump and having its discharge end over said hopper, as set forth.

4. In a dredging device, as a means for supporting a dredging-pump and facilitating its adjustment in position, an elevated continuous rail, as I, fixed on andin combination with a supporting boat and frame, whereby the pumping mechanism may be used upon all sides and over a large area without moving the boat, as set forth.

5. In a dredging device, the combination, with an elevated continuous rail, as I, a carrier, m, traversing said rail, and pump-suspending chain n, of a pump, as H, provided with flexible steam and water connections, substantially as herein shown and described.

6. In adredging device of the character substantially as herein shown and described, the combination, with an elevated hopper, as G, and suitable hopperdischarging pipes, of flexible pipe k, iron pipe 8, and V-shaped trough t, as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed my name, in presence of two Witnesses, this 19th day of May, 1884.

GARDNER F. BADGER.

Witnesses:

J A0013 J. SToRER, HENRY STEWART, Jr. 

